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by baldsparrow on Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:35 pm

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This will probably come as a dumb question but ...

After years of taking mostly ho-hum and occasionally not-bad photos exclusively for use on websites etc I find I have a small number that I would like to make prints of for myself and for friends. I know my basic HP letter printer isn't going to do a good enough job and although I have money to spend I don't have quite that much to justify a major expense, I don't have plans to start selling prints ... so what is a good-enough compromise photo printer to purchase for just the occasional image?

Where to start please - any suggestions without breaking the bank?

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by Tombenson on Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:41 pm

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I use a Canon Pro 9000 II and I think it does a great job. 13x19 is about perfect for most folks to print as this is about the optimal size for most cameras to resolve.

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by Andrew Kandel on Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:40 pm

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You need to decide how big you want to print and whether you actually care if you do your own printing. If you are a casual printer you'll save a fair amount of money by just getting prints done at Costco, Walmart, etc.

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by baldsparrow on Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:46 pm

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Andrew Kandel wrote:You need to decide how big you want to print and whether you actually care if you do your own printing. If you are a casual printer you'll save a fair amount of money by just getting prints done at Costco, Walmart, etc.

A very casual printer indeed. Would Costco be adequate quality though? I assume they are geared to family snaps where anything goes. Always happy to save money though. Thanks for commenting.

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by Andrew Kandel on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:14 pm

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They have professional machines. You can download print profiles for your specific store from Dry Creek Photo. The limitation is you have less control and you are limited by paper types. For better paper choices you can go with online print labs such as ProDPI, White House Custom Color, etc.

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by baldsparrow on Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:45 pm

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Thanks everyone for your replies - looks I will go with an outside solution to start with and save my desk-space. Much appreciated.

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by Mark Picard on Mon Jan 26, 2015 3:20 pm

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baldsparrow wrote:Thanks everyone for your replies - looks I will go with an outside solution to start with and save my desk-space. Much appreciated.

Mpix does a decent job and reasonable costs: http://www.mpix.com/

Mark Picard
Website: http://www.markpicard.com
Maine Photography Workshops

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by bradmangas on Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:14 pm

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I would second Mark's comments on Mpix for the ease of use and low cost. Plus they produce Lightjet prints which do exceed even the best inkjet prints.

Brad Mangas
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by MarkoPolo on Tue Jan 27, 2015 10:31 pm

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Plus 3 on MPIX.
I would add that I got a Canon Pro 100 for $48 plus the cost of one box of print paper this spring when Adorama was running a special. This replace my old S9000 that finally died. Very nice printer and easy to use. I'm thrilled at the quality. Of course, they will make their profit on ink sales over time and this sucker is big! But the cost per print has been very reasonable and printing is fun!

Mark Brown

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